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Soulbound/Greetings
"Greetings" is the first issue of the comic series Soulbound and is the beginning of The True Name arc. Transcript *'Narrator:' ...You feel strange... Chara is seen lying in bed, their eyes wide open staring at the roof. *'Narrator: '''You don't know why, but you do... Chara is revealed to be surrounded by a large number of other children, who are all asleep. Chara sits up and looks into a mirror next to their bed. They pull their shirt down from the collar, exposing a bruise on their shoulder. They let their collar go and continue to look at themselves in the mirror. *'Narrator: It's you, Chara. Chara continues to look in the mirror, staring at other parts of their body which also have bruises and cuts on them. * '''Narrator: You probably got hurt. Chara curls up into a ball, looking rather sad and slowly closes their eyes. The next morning, Chara wakes up and looks at a clock on the wall, revealing the time to be 8:32. Chara's eyes widen and they jump out of bed, running downstairs. Outside, all the children from the room are gathered in front of a large stage. Chara runs out and walks up beside another child. *'Chara:' Why did nobody wake me up? I can't be late again! *'Boy #1: '''You were asleep? I didn't notice. The boy turns, not paying attention to Chara anymore. In response to this, Chara sighs in defeat. * '''Chara:' Of course... *'Girl #1:' Hey, do you know what this meeting's about? *'Chara:' It's... actually, no... hey, what's this meeting about? *'Boy #2:' They didn't tell us. They just came in while we were eating lunch and brought us out here. *'Chara:' Weird... Three people in white cloaks with a red stripe running down them walk on to the stage and a large chunk of the children gasp. *'Narrator:' You stare in awe at The Sages... Caption boxes appear below the Sages, revealing their names to be The Fool, The Emperor, and Judgment. *'Judgment:' Good morning... *'Fool:' Hello! *'Emperor:' Hm. *'Judgment: '''As I'm sure you're all very aware, we are a part of the Sages. Each and every one of us gave up something of our own to become a Sage. The Sages all take off their hoods. Their faces are shaded out, though it is obvious what they gave up. The Fool has bandages around his head, The Emperor has bandages around his mouth, and Judgment's face is covered in bandages. *'Judgment: The Fool gave his thoughts. The Emperor gave up his voice. And I gave up my body... sacrifice. Who can tell me the meaning of that word? Chara raises their hand. The Sages notice them and put their hoods back up. *'''Judgment: Yes? *'Chara: '''It's when you give something up. Something you love for the greater good. *'Judgment:' Exactly. And that's what it requires to become a Sage. And sacrifice is needed a lot throughout your life. What's your name young one? *'Chara: C... Chara... my Sage. *'''Judgment: Well, Chara, can you tell me what that mountain is? Judgment points to an extremely large mountain in the distance. *'Chara:' Mt. Ebott. It's the tallest mountain in the area. Some people think it's the entrance to the home of... monsters... *'Judgment:' That's right. Now, does anyone know what monsters do? *'Boy #3:' Eat people! *'Girl #2: '''They kidnap bad children and punish them! *'Boy #4: I heard they take everything you love and you never see it again! *'''Chara: I heard-- The Sages look at Chara and everyone else does after they do. *'Chara: '''I heard they live similar lives to us but they're... different at the same time... and almost all of them have grudges against humans for banishing them underground... *'Fool:' They're a smart one, aren't they? *'Emperor:' Mm. *'Judgment:' Indeed they are. *'Chara:' Heh... thanks... The Sages huddle together and begin whispering to each other. *'Narrator:' You can't hear what they're saying... The Sages suddenly begin walking away without a word. Chara tilts their head in confusion and it cuts to later that day. Chara is at lunch but instead of eating they are cutting and stabbing their mash potatoes, obviously thinking about something. They continue doing it until someone taps their shoulder. They turn to face the person. *'Short Girl:' What exactly are you doing? A large boy comes over to her and begins taking her away. *'Large Boy:' Don't talk to them, Sally. *'Sally: Why not? *'''Large Boy: They were one of the first kids brought here and they still haven't been adopted. Clearly, something's wrong with 'em. Chara opens their mouth to say something but decides against it. They then sigh. They slowly start to look angrier and angrier. *'Narrator: '''You feel strange... you've never spoken up before but... *'Chara:' You know, just because I haven't been adopted yet doesn't mean I'm a freak or a psychopath. It just means nobody who came in wanted me because I'm "too old." Everybody who comes in here wants a baby or a toddler, they never want one of the half-grown kids. Just because I'm over the age of six they instantly dismiss me as a possible choice. And that hurts... none of you have any idea... *'Person:' If I were adopting, I wouldn't want you either! A good chunk of the children burst into laughter as Chara stares off into nothingness. A loud "SHANK!!" is heard as everyone stops laughing and stares at Chara, who has stabbed their fork hard enough to break through their plastic food tray and stab right into the table. Everyone then gasps. Chara looks around and realizes what they've done. They look down at their own hands in terror. *'Narrator: How angry... were you just now...? very angry? it doesn't matter... at the end of the day, that shouldn't have happened... not because you're ashamed... A boy gets up, slamming his fist in front of Chara. *'''Narrator: But because you're afraid of what's going to happen next... and I understand. A large group of people crowds around Chara, who curls up into a ball. It cuts to later that night where Chara is once again looking at themselves in the mirror, this time seemingly after a bath. Once again they are covered in bruises, some a lot worse than the other ones. *'Narrator:' It's like a cycle at this point... someone pushes you just a little too far, you lash out, and everyone turns against you. Well, that's an exaggeration, but those who aren't okay with it don't seem to speak up about it a lot. You would tell someone, but you learned your lesson after the first time... Chara walks out, wearing their usual clothes again. They walk into their room and sit on their bed, curling up into a ball and once again staring off at nothing. They turn to face themselves in the mirror. *'Narrator:' It's you. Chara turns around to look at themselves. *'Chara:' What...? you really expected something different...? every time you show even a slight sign of emotion, this happens. You only have yourself to blame... Tears form in Chara's eyes. *'Chara:' ...You're worthless... if one day you just decided not to leave your bed, no one would care... why did you even worry about being late? nobody would notice you were gone. No wonder your parents shipped you off to this place, they knew you would never amount to anything! *'???:' Oh, Chara... A terrified Chara turns around, revealing the Sages standing behind them. *'Judgment:' You don't know how wrong you are... Chara stares in shock at the Sages and it cuts to Mt. Ebott where Chara is standing in front of a cave. *'Chara: '''What are we doing here...? *'Judgment: Do you remember our talk about sacrifice? *'''Chara: Y... yeah...? *'Judgment:' Well, as a way of keeping the monsters in the Underground, we've been coming yearly to pick someone... The Emperor grabs Chara's shoulders and the Fool holds a knife to their throat. *'Judgment:' For the greatest sacrifice of all... Chara screams and attempts to struggle free of the Emperor's grip, ending with them biting his arm to make him let go. Chara runs off deeper into the cave and the three Sages chase after them. They are stopped when they come across a massive hole in the ground. They turn, revealing the Sages just a few feet away from them. * Judgment: You can't escape fate, Chara. A terrified Chara begins turning left and right frantically, ending with them tripping over a vine and falling. However, their hand is seen bleeding as it's revealed they are hanging on to the blade of a knife stabbed into the wall of the hole. *'Narrator:' If you hold on like this, you'll lose your thumb. But if you let go... Still hanging on for dear life, Chara reaches inside of her shirt and pulls out a heart-shaped locket. They look at it before grabbing the hilt of the knife and looking up at Judgment. *'Chara:' If I die I won't give you the satisfaction of doing it... Chara pulls the knife out of the wall and allows themselves to fall into the pit. * Chara: Goodbye. An oddly content grin spreads across Chara's face. *'''Narrator: '''Now you're the one in control...